How French riders won the silver medal at the Paris Olympics – L’Express

In the heart of the majestic park of the Château de Versailles, the public holds its breath. Under the blazing sun of this Monday, July 29, Stéphane Landois is the last French rider to take to the track for the show jumping final, the final event of the team eventing competition that began two days earlier. Concentrating on his mount Chaman Dumontceau Ride for Thaïs, the Nantais knows that the silver medal is within reach: he flies over the first barriers without difficulty, stumbles halfway through by touching a bar at obstacle number 9, then continues without another fault… In 80.57 seconds, he reaches the end of the 13 obstacles of the track, under the eyes of an overexcited public largely won over to his cause. The young thirty-something raises his fist in the air, exulting. With 103.60 points in total, he has just won, with his teammates Nicolas Touzaint and Karim Laghouag, a silver medal. The unbeatable British, for their part, won gold with 91.30 points, and the Japanese brought home the first Olympic medal in their history in the discipline, winning bronze with 115.80 points.

For the French team in general, and Stéphane Landois in particular, the symbol is strong: the young man completed all three events of the eventing competition on the former mount of Thaïs Meheust, a 22-year-old rider who died in 2019 after a fatal accident on a cross-country course at the Haras du Pin, in Normandy. “I thought about Thaïs all weekend, I was there for her, I did all this for her. Having this medal is for her too,” he confided to journalists after his victory. A few dozen minutes earlier, Nicolas Touzaint from Angers was the first Frenchman to take to the track, on his mount Diabolo Menthe. Cheered on by the crowd, the forty-year-old, a seven-time participant in the Olympic Games, touched two bars. His teammate Karim Laghouag, who rode the horse Triton Fontaine, also hit a rail – while the three British riders only knocked down one rail during the entire event. “We have to admit that the English are undeniably better than us… But the show is so magical, what the French offer us is extraordinary,” confided Karine, a spectator who came specially from Rueil-Malmaison, in Hauts-de-Seine.

With a hat in the shape of the Phryge mascot on her head and a gigantic French flag on her back, the supporter says she is “impressed” by the spectacle and is well aware of the unprecedented nature of the competition. “Such a grandiose event in a setting like this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It’s breathtaking,” she confides. The day before, Karine had already had the opportunity to admire the cross-country events, where improbable twists and turns kept the spectators on the edge of their seats. While France had previously occupied third place in the team rankings, far behind Germany and England, German rider Christophe Wahler fell, causing his team to be penalized 200 points. British world champion Rosalind Canter, for her part, was penalized 15 points for a flag-crossing error, giving Les Bleus the chance of a gold medal.

“We believed in it, but silver suits us very well too! There are some great nations, with a very high level. Our result is still fabulous,” comments Hervé, a spectator from Grenoble, flag in hand and a smile from ear to ear. Especially since this silver medal largely rewards the consistency of the French team, already gold medalists at the Rio Games in 2016 and bronze medalists in Tokyo in 2020. “Now, we’re impatiently waiting for the rest!” comments Hervé, pointing to the landscape of Menton. To his right, the waters of the Grand Canal of the Château de Versailles shine in the sun, ready to serve as a backdrop for the next events of the day.

“It’s historic”

At exactly 3pm, the final of the individual eventing competition began in the gardens of Versailles. The first French rider to pass before the eyes of the 15,000 spectators gathered for the occasion, Nicolas Touzaint made his entrance on Diabolo Menthe. The crowd cheered the new Olympic team vice-champion, waving hundreds of blue-white-red flags in the stands. The rider set off on the nine obstacles that made up the track, but hit two bars – he would finish 25th in the individual competition with 46.40 points. A few minutes later, Karim Laghouag also took his turn, cheered by a crowd stamping their feet in the stands. The 48-year-old rider stumbled on a bar, and finished in 15th place, just behind Stéphane Landois, who also made a mistake and would finish 14th in the competition.

The individual eventing gold medal was won a few minutes later by Germany’s Michaël Jung, the last rider to take to the track, who unsurprisingly performed a clear round on his mount Chipmunk FRH. The 41-year-old athlete thus wrote history in his sport, becoming the first triple gold medallist in the discipline, after coming out on top in London in 2012 and Rio in 2016. Australia’s Christopher Burton won the silver medal with Shadow Man and a score of 22.40 points, while Britain’s Laura Collett won the bronze with a score of 23.10 points, on her mount London 52.

“There were a few small mistakes for the French and no individual medal, but it was so worth it!” exclaims Jules, who came from the Meuse region to take part in the competition. With a blue-white-red flag painted on his cheeks, this amateur rider does not regret “in the least” the more than 200 euros spent to take part in these 2024 equestrian events. “What I just saw there is historic,” he sighs. During the medal ceremony, the young man tirelessly flies his flag in the air, cheering on the French eventing team champions. Cheered on by several waves and “Allez les bleus” proudly chanted in the stands, the latter do not hide their happiness. On this third day of competition, they won the 9th French medal of the 2024 Olympic Games.